


Bedtime Stories

by Raevehn



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Bedtime Stories, Fairy Tale Elements, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27599444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raevehn/pseuds/Raevehn
Summary: It's Mariemaia's bedtime and she insists on a bedtime story be read to her every night!
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13
Collections: Ficlets from Writing Prompts





	1. Heero Tells a Story

**Author's Note:**

> "Hi. GW main/supporting characters are given a chance to tell Mariemeia a bedtime story. Each character has to tell the little girl her bedtime stories.
> 
> Based on their personalities, what kind of bedtime stories would they tell little Mariemeia?" - Anon
> 
> This was sent to me on my tumblr, and I wrote out my ideas but here they are as a story! Stories told will be linked at the end of the story.

# Bedtime Stories

_Heero Tells a Story_

Lady Une sighed and rubbed at her temples. Bedtime with Mariemaia was never easy, the girl was strong willed thanks to her dad and the way Dekim raised her. But, the girl was only seven and Lady Une had dealt with worse; in fact she was calling in a favor of those who were worse.

Having assembled everyone who owed, she glared at them with her most terrifying glare. The gathered young adults shifted mildly uncomfortable under her glare, except for one blonde who glared back just as fiercely. “Over the years, you have all caused me stress in one way or another, and now it is payback time. You will each have to read Mariemaia a bedtime story. One story a night, but you will all end up telling her a story before this month is out,” she instructed, pacing in front of them.

This caused a few more glares to be returned to Lady Une. She didn’t care; she was tired of trying to get the child to go to sleep by herself after a long day at the Preventers office. Pacing still, Une paused in front of one of the gathered, “Heero, you’re first.”

Grunting in response, she dismissed those gathered with a warning that she would be contacting the next storyteller each evening.

* * *

Heero followed Lady Une to Mariemaia’s room and stared at the child in bed. The older woman swept in and kissed her adoptive daughter on her head. “Heero here has agreed to read you a story tonight! I thought you would appreciate hearing stories from others besides me every night,” she said fondly. Giving Heero a grin, she gestured at the chair by the bed and then left the two alone in the room.

The young red head glared at the young man sitting in the chair next to her bed, who returned the glare just as strongly. He could see why Lady Une wanted help and he didn’t blame her. ‘ _Strong willed child against the strong willed Lady Une; it’s quite fitting really,_ ’ he thought to himself.

“If you don’t read me a good story, I’m not going to sleep and you’ll get in trouble,” the snotty brat informed him.

Narrowing his eyes further into a proper Heero Yuy glare, he grunted in response and settled further into the chair, “Fine.”

Pulling out his tablet, Heero searched for stories to tell her and settled on a book by Brothers Grimm. It sounded like a fairy tale book and kids liked those right?

“Hmm, here’s a good one; _Rapunzel_ by Brothers Grimm,” Heero started.

Mariemaia gave him a dubious glance, but settled down into her bed further.

“There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child,” the former 01 pilot read. “At length the woman hoped that God was about to grant her desire.”

Heero continued on with the story, not realizing the girl was rather into his story, he kept droning on as it was just his mission and he wanted it over with. As the story wound on, Heero’s monotone voice lulled the girl to sleep.

“He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented,” Heero finished. Looking over at the girl, he found she was asleep. With a content nod, he put his tablet away and stood up and turned to leave the room. Before he could move further though; he was stopped by Lady Une at the door.

“You know that wasn’t a child friendly story right,” she questioned.

Heero looked at her questioningly, but before he could speak Une held up a hand to stop him.

“It doesn’t matter this time, she’s asleep and I thank you,” she said with a smile as she turned off the lights and led him from the room.


	2. Relena, The Little Prince and how Dorothy Shouldn’t Tell Bedtime Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorothy tells Mariemaia a story that terrifies the child and Relena comforts her and tells a better story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The stories used are "Carmilla" which is about a lesbian vampire who existed pre-Dracula and "Le Petit Prince/The Little Prince". Links can be found at the end of the story, at least for Carmilla.
> 
> I figured this would be the easiest way to do a Dorothy chapter, have her tell a terrifying story and have Relena make up for it. I actually discover The Little Prince as a late teen and fell in love with it. With the Sanc Kingdom being in Northern Europe it was the perfect story for Relena.

# Bedtime Stories

_Relena, The Little Prince and how Dorothy Shouldn’t Tell Bedtime Stories_

The next evening, Relena and Dorothy paid a visit for dinner with Lady Une and Mariemaia. While it was a peaceful evening, it also made the young child uncomfortable because there was something about Dorothy that just scared her; it was quite possibly those eyebrows of hers. After dinner, the four ladies moved into a sitting room and enjoyed tea, and kept talking about the new peace policies Relena was helping with and how the Preventers were also working towards peace.

As the evening wore on, Mariemaia began to grow tired; too much adult talk for her - even if she did just have a rebellion a few months ago. Looking over at her adopted daughter, Lady Une noticed this. "I was going to contact one of the boys to come over this evening, but since you two are here do either of you mind reading Mariemaia her bedtime story tonight," she asked. 

Dorothy's eyes lit up in excitement, which the young girl found even more terrifying. 

"Why, it would be an absolute delight to read her a story and I have one in mind," the terrifying blonde said. Standing up, Dorothy took the child's hand and led her off to the bedroom. 

Reaching the bedroom in silence, Mariemaia quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. Helping the girl pull her bedding up, Dorothy sat in the chair next to her and grinned. 

"Tonight I will be telling you the story of Carmilla. It was my favorite story growing up," the older girl began. Leaning back slightly in the chair, Dorothy smiled fondly as she recalled the story. 

As she recited the story, it began innocently enough but the more it went on the more scared the child got.

By the end of the story, Lady Une and Relena could hear Mariemaia crying. The two women rushed to the child's room to find out what was going on. 

There they found a sobbing child and an annoyingly smug, yet annoyed Dorothy. 

"Dorothy Catalonia! What in the world did you read my daughter," Lady Une practically screamed at tonight's story teller. 

While Lady Une was scolding Dorothy, Relena sat on the bed and began comforting Mariemaia. The young child pressed herself into the older girl and continued to sob. Looking away from the child briefly to make eye contact with the other two women, Relena mouthed that they needed to leave and she'd fix this.

The former Queen of the World shifted Mariemaia in the bed and sat down next to the child allowing the young girl to still curl up against her. Smiling warmly at the child, Relena ran her fingers through her hair comfortingly. 

"I'm sorry about Dorothy's story. I have a different story that's better than that. It was a story from my childhood as well," the young woman said. 

Watery lavender eyes looked up at her and gave a small nod. 

"I'll tell it to you in English tonight, but I can recite it in French next time." 

Lowering her voice, Relena began the story of "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. 

By the time Lady Une returned to her daughter's room, Relena had finished the story and Mariemaia and drifted to sleep, curled up against her story teller. Relena pressed a finger to her lips and slowly shifted out of the bed, gently laying the small redhead down and tucking her in. 

The two women left the child's room and went back to the sitting room where they enjoyed tea earlier in the evening and Dorothy sat waiting. 

"Thank you for getting her to sleep Relena, I greatly appreciate it," Une was telling Relena as they entered the room. 

"It was my pleasure; she's a good kid and has been flourishing under your care." 

With warm smiles, side eyes towards Dorothy, and hugs out of the way, the two younger women left and headed back to their home; Dorothy complaining the whole time about how ungrateful Mariemaia was. Relena just shook her head at her companion, they were complete polar opposites and she doubted the child would be asking for another story from Catalonia anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fully admit, I haven't had the chance to sit down and read Carmilla yet. What I've learned of it, probably shouldn't be a good story to tell a seven year old. I'm also enjoying making her very much a normal child compared to Rebellion Mariemaia. I feel that her time away from Dekim and under Lady Une's care would have really helped her be a child.
> 
> [Read Carmilla here](http://www.publicbookshelf.com/vampire/carmilla/)  
> Unfortunately, The Little Prince is not public domain at this time. :) But check it out, it's super good.


	3. Quatre, Trowa and the Bedtime Duet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the previous night's disaster, Lady Une calls in Quatre in hopes of a better evening. Trowa tags along and helps with the story telling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is my way of "getting out of" doing a Trowa chapter. lol I really wanted to do something like this after they each had a turn. Plus, the story I wanted Trowa to read wasn't public domain and I already had that issue with the last chapter.

# Bedtime Stories

_Quatre, Trowa and the Bedtime Duet_

After the previous night of putting up with Dorothy’s attempt at a bedtime story, Lady Une didn’t want another repeat; though she was still grateful that Relena was there to save the night. Eyeing her list of remaining “victims” she sighed. She was in no mood to put up with Zechs, Duo or Wufei at this time – especially after last night and Dorothy.

Quatre however, would be a great choice; he was calm, smart and not a damn lunatic; well as long as he wasn’t influenced by the ZERO system. The one downside of Quatre was he could be tricky to get a hold of since he was often up in space in the colonies running his family’s company.

Shrugging her shoulders, Une took a chance and dialed up Quatre on the vid screen; at the worst she would just schedule an appointment if he was back in the colonies already. Mariemaia was taking her evening bath, so that gave her plenty of time to get someone here.

"Hello?"

Turning her attention back to the vid screen, Une smiled. "Quatre, it's good to see you. Are you still Earth side," the older woman asked.

"I am, just for another day before I need to head back to the colonies for a little bit. Is it my turn to tell a story," the friendly blonde replied.

"If you don't mind; last night was a fiasco with Dorothy and while I'm glad Relena could salvage bedtime, I don't want another repeat."

Quatre laughed at this, he could easily see how Dorothy could ruin bedtime; she was fucking crazy. "I most certainly can! Do you mind if I bring Trowa along? We've been rehearsing a bedtime duet for Mariemaia."

Une nodded her approval and smiled at him. Having finished up the details that needed to be conveyed, she went off to check on Mariemaia. She knew Quatre and Trowa would be here shortly and would have just enough time to finish helping her daughter get ready for bed.

* * *

A short while later, Lady Une welcomed the 03 and 04 pilots into her house; she made note of Trowa holding a flute case and Quatre holding a violin case and a book and raised an eyebrow, curious how this was going to go.

Trowa offered a polite nod and Quatre beamed at their host. "Thank you for allowing us to do this together Lady Une. We've been adapting music to go along with some stories I know," the blonde informed her as they were escorted to Mariemaia, who was patiently waiting in her bed for them.

Entering the girl's bedroom, the young red head studied the two boys. "This better not be a repeat of last night. Two people showing up for bedtime stories has been a disaster," Mariemaia informed them.

Trowa chuckled softly at her bluntness. Quatre smiled and sat down in the chair next to her. "I promise, it's not a repeat of last night. Trowa and I have been adapting music to go along with some stories for you," Quatre responded.

"...fine," she responded.

The two boys took their instruments out and made sure they were tuned. Trowa dimmed the lights in her room and moved to the foot of the bed where Quatre shortly joined him; the blonde having been reviewing the stories they were to tell her tonight.

"Tonight we will be reading you stories from One Thousand and One Nights. It's a compilation of old Middle Eastern folk tales," Quatre began.

The two boys started playing some music softly before Quatre began the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. As the shorter boy recited the story, Trowa accompanied him on the flute and occasionally Quatre would add in some violin.

The two boys continued this for a few stories, taking turns reciting different stories until Mariemaia had fallen asleep.

Quietly, the two boys left the room and headed back towards the sitting room where Lady Une asked them to meet her when they were done.

Looking up from the book she was reading as the boys entered the room and sat down, she eyed them. "I take it everything went well?"

Trowa nodded, "She fell asleep after a few stories were told. She seemed to have liked the music."

Une smiled, she was glad she contacted these two for tonight's story time.

The three sat and chatted briefly before the boys indicated they needed to head home.

"Oh! Before we leave Lady Une, this is a copy of the book we were reciting stories from. I had a spare and thought Mariemaia would enjoy it," Quatre said holding out the book he had brought with him.

"Thank you Quatre; I'm sure she will enjoy it," Une replied while accepting the book. Having seen the two boys off, Lady Une looked down at the copy of One Thousand and One Nights in her and smiled. Maybe she’d read it herself as well. She was just super glad for a perfect evening tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, you'll get your Duo chapter eventually. His is going to take time and I want to do it last. <3 I also love the stories included in One Thousand and One Nights.
> 
> [Read One Thousand and One Nights](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34206/34206-h/34206-h.htm)


	4. Wufei, Nataku and the Legend of the Zodiacs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Wufei's turn to tell a story to Mariemaia, but he's unprepared! He's even more thrown off guard when she asks for two very specific stories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can tell by the title, I'm using the story of the Chinese Zodiacs and "Nataku". For Nataku, I'm using actual information on Nezha (aka Nataku) and pulling in Meilan <3 Because I want her to get some love and have Wufei be encouraging of strong women warriors. Links for my sources are at the end of the chapter.

# Bedtime Stories

_Wufei, Nataku and the Legend of the Zodiac_

Wufei grumbled as he got of the vid screen with Lady Une. It was apparently his turn to tell a story to the little brat. Une had very rudely informed him that he especially owed her since he had helped the rebellion in the beginning. What did it matter to her what he did?

Sighing he pushed away from the desk and got ready to go. He didn’t know what story to tell the child so he hoped she had a book he could just read her once he got there.

The trip didn’t take long on his motorcycle and it wasn’t long before he was knocking on Une’s door, glaring at it the whole time. Moments later, the older woman opened the door with a smug grin, oh how he hated it, and let him in.

“Why thank you for coming over Wufei,” she was with her stern voice dripping in fake sweetness.

The young Chinese man just grunted in response. He still didn’t like the fact that he was here.

“Uncle Wufei?” A small voice questioned.

Looking away from the older woman and towards the small voice, he saw Mariemaia peeking out of the sitting room dressed for bed. Turning his attention back to Lady Une, he raised an eyebrow, “Uncle?”

“Mariemaia, it is okay you can come greet your _Uncle_ ,” Lady Une said, emphasizing the word ‘uncle’.

Glaring at the woman once again he turned back to Mariemaia who had come out to greet him again. She loved all of her adopted aunts and uncles; especially since they’ve been coming over and reading her bedtime stories. Though, Dorothy was still questionable and Relena was definitely more of an older sister to her.

“Hello Mariemaia,” he replied much nicer than he had spoken to Lady Une.

“Is it your turn to read me a bedtime story Uncle Wufei,” the young girl questioned.

“It is; how about we get this started so you can go to bed,” the former 05 pilot responded.

Squealing in delight, the small red head took off down the hall towards her room. Just as Wufei was about to follow Lady Une put a hand on his shoulder, “I’m sure you’ve heard by now about the incident with Dorothy. Don’t let there be a repeat.”

Once Wufei nodded in understanding, Lady Une took her hand away and allowed him to follow Mariemaia to her room.

Upon entering the room, Wufei noted that Mariemaia was already in bed excitedly waiting for his stories to being.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like me to tell you about?”

The girl nodded in excitement, “I want to hear about the zodiac and Nataku! I remember you talking about Nataku before and I want to know more!”

Settling in to the chair next to the bed, Wufei eyed the girl. That was a strange request; he was thinking she’d ask for a book she owned to be read.

“Nataku was the name of a protection deity. His proper name is Nezha and was given the title Third Lotus Prince once he became a deity,” Wufei started. The girl seemed interested still so he continued on with facts about Nezha until he noticed Mariemaia eyeing him.

“That doesn’t sound like the Nataku you talk about. I want the story of that one,” she pointed out.

“Hm. You’re right Mariemaia; the Nataku I refer to is someone else,” Wufei said with a sigh, staring off into the distance as he thought about his deceased wife. He didn’t speak of her much, but he knew that Mariemaia would appreciate the woman. With a sigh he started up again.

“Now that you know about Nezha, I’ll explain who my Nataku is. Nataku was the name my wife chose when we were younger,” he started before Mariemaia interrupted him.

“You’re married? Why haven’t I met her? Where is Aunt Nataku? You ARE young! Mama told me so!”

“I was married, Nataku was killed during Operation Meteor,” he replied quietly.

“Oh,” the young girl replied. “I’m sorry.”

Shaking his head Wufei began again, “Meilan loved everything Nataku stood for and took his name as her own. She was a fierce warrior and died too soon. I’ve always referred to my Gundams as ‘Nataku’ in honor of her.”

He spent the next short while telling Mariemaia about how his clan was full of warriors and how they respected women just as much as men if they could prove themselves; which Meilan had done. As he told the story to the girl, he noticed she had scooched further down into her bed and was starting to drift a little.

“Enough about Nataku, I still have another story to tell you,” the young man said.

The girl responded with a sleepy nod.

“This is the legend of how the 12 animals in the zodiac came to be,” he began softer since the girl was falling asleep. “One day, the heavenly Jade Emperor decided that time should be segmented into cycles of 12 years, with an earthly animal guarding each cycle.”

By the time he was done with the story, Mariemaia was fast asleep. Quietly – as if he did anything loudly other than yell – he stood up and left the room to head back to the sitting room where he knew Une would be waiting for him. Entering the room he was correct finding her sitting with a glass of red wine and smiling that smug smile he remembered from the wars.

Truthfully though, all of the smugness and rudeness he saw when he looked at Une was just a carryover from the warm. She actually had been genuine to him through all of their interactions this evening and he was just so on edge with her he was unable to see it.

Lady Une motioned to a chair across from her and smiled warmly, “Thank you so much Wufei for coming over tonight. I had actually let Mariemaia choose tonight and I told her I would try to get you tonight.”

“Hm. But why is she calling me ‘uncle’,” Wufei asked.

“Oh that,” Lady Une chuckled softly, causing Wufei’s image of her to start to crack. “She has started referring to you five pilots and Zechs as ‘uncle’. Noin and Sally have become her aunts, and she views Relena as an older sister.”

“And Dorothy?”

“She’s terrified of her; then again that night with the bedtime story didn’t help any,” Une replied with a loving motherly tone. It was the final straw that broke his image of ‘stern, evil woman’ that he had held of her for years.

Wufei blinked at little as he truly looked at her for the first time this evening.

“Wufei?”

“Sorry, you just seem different than how I’ve always seen you. I didn’t notice it when I got here this evening,” the boy replied.

“Mariemaia has changed a lot in my life. I wish Treize could see his daughter. She’s changed so much since the rebellion and it has changed me,” Lady Une responded fondly.

The two sat there for a few minutes in silence before Wufei couldn’t stand it any longer.

“I should go.”

“Thank you again for coming tonight. I know Mariemaia really appreciated it,” Lady Une said as she stood to lead the young man to the front door. “Please don’t be a stranger, she looks up to you.”

Wufei nodded as she opened the door for him, “Fine.” And with that, he left the house and headed back home confused on how this evening happened. He was pretty sure Po was behind it and he would be contacting him as soon as he got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Nataku/Nezha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nezha) Wiki Article  
> [Chinese Zodiac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac) Wiki Article  
> [Chinese Zodiac](https://www.buro247.my/culture/buro-loves/heavenly-gate-race-story-behind-chinese-zodiac.html) Version of the story I use.
> 
> There are a few different versions that involve cat. The version I prefer is the Rat tricks the Cat causing the cat to not get there in time. Also, this is somehow the longest chapter so far! It surprised me actually. I hope you like this version of Wufei.


	5. Zechs & Noin Read Fairy Tales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Une calls in her next "victim" who has to delay for an evening causing her to find a backup in Zechs & Noin. Zechs complains, Noin agrees and bribes Zechs to tell stories with different voices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will admit, I was too lazy to find fairy tales to use. So the stories they read with various voices are up to you! I can see Zechs begrudgingly going along with Noin's plan, Noin having fun with it and the more stories told the more Zechs gets into "character" with his voices.

# Bedtime Stories

_Zechs & Noin Read Princess Stories_

Bedtime had gone smoothly for a couple of weeks as Mariemaia occasionally requested repeat visitors, mainly Relena and her ‘Uncle’ Wufei. Lady Une tried to remind the girl that there were others who haven’t come over yet but Mariemaia was insistent and it made bed time easier. Tonight though she insisted she brings in someone new. She knew just who she wanted – the last Gundam pilot.

Dialing up her next ‘victim’, Une waited for the cheerful response she was sure she’d get. Sure enough, the grinning idiot popped up on the screen.

“Hey! Duo here,” the person on the other side of the screen greeted, large grin in place as usual.

“Duo, it’s your turn to come in and read a story tonight,” Une informed him.

“Ahh….that’s not going to work for me,” Duo responded sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

“And why not?”

“See, I’m actually writing a story for her and it’s not finished yet. I just need another day to finish it,” he responded with a mischievous grin.

His response took Lady Une by surprise. _‘Duo was writing a story for Mariemaia? That is rather unexpected, yet impressive,’_ she thought to herself.

“Fine, you have until tomorrow evening to finish it. I expect you to be here at exactly 7:30 PM then,” the older woman responded.

“You got it!”

With that, Duo disconnected the call and went about doing whatever he was doing; probably writing the story.

With a sigh Lady Une looked at her remaining list. Hilde was back in space running her salvage company; they had spoken before this “mandate” was put into place by Une; that really only left Noin and Zechs as Sally was already a frequent visitor and as such never made the list. Groaning inwardly she dialed up Noin and Zechs, hoping that Noin would answer or at least be nearby to help intervene. Zechs was still such a thorn in her side.

“Why, hello Lady Une, to we owe the pleasure of receiving a call from you,” the smooth, pompous voice answered.

_‘Dammit, it’s Zechs,’_ she thought to herself. “Why Zechs, I’m calling in a favor. Is Noin around,” she responded coolly.

“I’m afraid she’s n-,” Zechs began before he was pushed to the side and Noin popped into view.

“I am you precious idiot, I just got back,” Noin said while rolling her eyes at Zechs before turning her attention back to the vid screen.

“Lady Une, it’s always good to hear from you. Sorry about Zechs. What can we do for you?”

Zechs snorted.

“Ah Noin, it’s so good to see you as always. I was hoping to collect on a favor tonight, my original plan fell through for tonight,” the bespectacled woman responded fondly, ignoring Zechs.

“Oh? Have a big date tonight,” Zechs asked with a wicked grin on his face.

Both women turned their glares on the blonde.

“No. If you remember Zechs, you owe Mariemaia a bedtime story and I was hoping you and Noin would join me for dinner tonight,” Lady Une responded coldly, very much reverting back to her formal self. Really, she wanted Noin there as a chaperone for Zechs as he could be unpredictable.

“No.”

“Excuse you,” was the deadly response.

“Lady Une, we would love to join you for dinner tonight! I’ll make sure to bring along some good bedtime stories with us,” Noin responded warmly while glaring at her lover/problem child.

“Perfect! I’ll see you at our usual time then,” Lady Une responded warmly to the purple haired woman. The two on the vid screen weren’t strangers at Une’s house having gone over for dinner often. Despite the way she acted during Operation Meteor, Lady Une did respect Noin and enjoyed having her over; she also appreciated the way the woman could keep Zechs in check.

Having settled all the details with Zechs pouting and glaring at the two women, Lady Une ended her call and went to find Mariemaia.

She found her daughter in the library reading away at one of the tables and smiled. “Mariemaia, Aunt Noin and Uncle Zechs will be over for dinner tonight and will read you a story,” she informed her adopted daughter. Mariemaia squealed in excitement. She loved her Auntie Noin and enjoyed terrorizing her Uncle Zechs.

* * *

Later that evening, their two guests arrived shortly before dinner, with a large leather bound book with gold lettering. Mariemaia couldn’t quite read what it said, but she was excited and hoped it was her bed time story.

Dinner went smoothly, Zechs and Mariemaia exchanging snarky comments while Noin and Lady Une laughed. It was always nice when they came over; she loved seeing how excited Mariemaia got. As the evening wore on, it quickly became the girl’s bedtime.

Noin followed the girl back to her room to help her get ready while the other two adults remained in the sitting room.

“So, I’m to read her a story,” Zechs asked looking Lady Une directly in the eyes.

“Yes, and I implore you to be nice about it. I know you two don’t always see eye to eye, but this is important to both of us,” she responded while brushing away an invisible wrinkle in her blue dress, never breaking eye contact.

While the two adults had a staring contest, Noin and Mariemaia came back into the room so the girl could say good night to her mother and Noin could grab Zechs and the book. “Remember, you owe me and we’re doing this together tonight,” Noin told him sharply.

“Fine, but you have to uphold your end of the bargain when we get home,” he shot back at her.

The two followed Mariemaia back to her room; Zechs claiming the chair next to the bed and Noin sitting on the bed next to Mariemaia once she had tucked the girl into her bed.

“Tonight we’re going to read you some fairy tales, and we’ll be doing voices for each of the characters,” the purple haired woman told Mariemaia. The girl’s eyes lit up with excitement for no one had done different voices yet!

The two adults settled in and began telling her stories about princesses, ogres, knights in shining armor, witches and everything else you would expect in a good fairy tale; each with a different voice. Mariemaia was quite entertained by hearing their silly voices and she noticed that Uncle Zechs was getting more into the more stories they read.

Eventually the girl drifted off to sleep and the two adults left the room heading back to the sitting room. Sitting back down in the empty chairs, Lady Une asked them how story time went.

“Oh, it was just fine. We read her some stories and I even got Zechs to do different voices with me for various parts,” Noin said with a sly grin.

“Why, that’s quite impressive Noin. It seems he really is wrapped around your finger,” Lady Une said with a laugh.

The three adults continue to talk for a bit before the couple departed for the evening.

_‘If those two could entertain Mariemaia like that I can only imagine what Duo had in stock for them,’_ she thought to herself as she closed the door behind her guests.

Tomorrow would definitely prove interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus: Pretend one of the stories we have Zechs reading the princess parts and Noin doing all of the other voices, all the request of Mariemaia. So maybe at a different story time.
> 
> One chapter left! I'll be starting on it today. For real, and then I'll work on Drops of Jupiter more.


	6. Duo and the Dragon Slaying Princess part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duo finally has his turn after having spent the weeks since the announcement was made writing a special story just for Mariemaia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay we have somethings to cover first. This. Was. Hard. What this really means is Duo's story is an AU Fic itself. This is why it took so long. But as it is a fic in a fic, I did "cut" some scenes for my sanity. Other things to note, as it is AU ages have no meaning. Such as Relena being around the same age as Mariemaia, the boys are their correct ages and are just considered crazy prodigies essentially. Much more info and the story is spoiled lol

# Bedtime Stories

_Duo and the Dragon Slaying Princess_

Duo stared down at his notebook and grinned to himself. He was thankful Lady Une hadn’t asked him to go right away as the second she announced that they “owed” her and the payment was bedtime stories to Mariemaia, he knew he wanted to make something up just for her. Satisfied with his story, he gathered up some of the props he had made to go along with his story. They were crudely made but that didn’t matter, they were mostly for Mariemaia to play with later.

Leaving for Lady Une’s with enough time to spare in case of traffic, the braided boy arrived a little before 7:30 PM, which was the designated time.

 _‘Won’t she be surprised when I’ve shown up a little early,’_ he thought to himself as he knocked on the door. He bounced on the balls of his feet a little in excitement for his story time; he had worked really hard on this story over the last few weeks.

Soon the door opened and Lady Une welcomed him into her home.

“You’re early,” she commented.

“You’re scary,” he replied with a grin.

She couldn’t argue back as she had been called terrifying when people don’t show up on time or obey her; the Gundam pilots had been on the receiving end of her ire and tried not to “poke” the bear… too much.

“Well, follow me to the sitting room for now. I need to go check on Mariemaia and finish helping her get ready for bed,” the older woman said, leading the way.

Duo cheerily went along and plopped down into one of the chairs while Une went off to help her daughter.

While Une was gone, Duo turned his attention back to his bag and rummaged through it making sure he had everything and looked over the story one last time. As Une re-entered the room, she raised an eyebrow having finally noticed the bag he had with him.

“Dare I ask what’s in the bag Duo,” she asked.

“Probably not,” he grinned back at her as he gathered everything and followed her to Mariemaia’s room.

“Uncle Duo?”

“Hey squirt! You ready for story time,” he asked the girl who was already tucked into bed.

Nodding her head, she said good night to her mother who pulled the door mostly shut behind her. Duo grinned and turned on a table side lamp and turned out the lights.

“Now, this is a very special story tonight,” Duo began as he pulled out his notebook and flipped open to the first page. Clearing his throat, Duo began the story.

* * *

## The Dragon Slaying Princess

> “Once upon a time, in a faraway land lived a princess. Now, this princess wasn’t like the other princess and was constantly shunned by the other. You see, she was an ambitious Princess who didn’t need a prince to save her, or anything else ridiculous like that. No, she could save herself. For she was the only daughter of a king came from a long line of warriors. Her mother, the queen, was from a line of strong willed women. If anything, everyone should fear what their daughter was going to grow into – especially if the prophecy was to be believed.
> 
> For the night she was born, the King and Queen were visited by an old witch.”

Here Duo paused and pulled out a cloak and changed his voice to sound like an old witch.

> “If ye child not be kept in check, rue the day she comes of age. For great ruin will befall us all if the child is left to rule.”

Turning back to his normal voice, changing as necessary to play the voices of the king, queen and various characters as the story progressed; using his normal voice to narrate. Mariemaia giggled at his use of voices and very animated way of telling the story.

> “That night, the King and Queen made the decision to teach her wisely in the ways of being a princess and future queen, but to never enforce the typical princess standards; for they feared forcing her to be your typical princess would make the prophecy come true.
> 
> Instead, they let their daughter choose what she wanted to do. They did insist on some standard princess things – embroidery, dancing, playing host and of course proper manners – but for the most part, they let her be who she was supposed to be.
> 
> As the years passed, Princess Mariemaia-,”

Duo paused briefly to gauge the girl’s reaction. He was met with eyes as big as saucers as she grinned. He had chosen correctly to name the princess after her.

> “-grew into a beautiful young lady. Her hair was a wonderful shade of red and she had the most dazzling lavender eyes. Most the princes in the neighboring kingdoms were a little scared of her. For those lavender eyes were quite piercing. Her beauty also intimidated some of the princesses; mostly because her demeanor scared them. Princess Mariemaia never took it to heart, she was proud of the young lady she had become.
> 
> She had been given the finest of instructors growing up, teaching her all of the skills she would ever need. Master Yuy coached her in battle strategies; Master Maxwell coached her in the ways of being subtle and sleight of hand; Master Barton coached her in care of animals and how to keep limber with stretches; Master Winner taught her grace and how to live among the high society; and finally Master Chang taught her how to fight. While it wasn’t exactly the Queen’s favorite choice her daughter had made, she was all for knowing how to save oneself; she herself was also trained in ways of self-defense. They of course brought in some well-trained ladies to help her with other ladylike skills as well. Lady Catherine, a relative of Master Barton, taught her most of her princess skills, with help from Princess Relena whenever she was around.”

Mariemaia giggled at the names of her tutors; Duo grinned back at her. Duo continued to narrate how her training went and how she occupied her time.

> “Finally the day came when Princess Mariemaia was of age. Her parents through her a proper ball and invited all of the neighboring kingdoms. As was tradition in their county, this was when all young royalty can start fulfilling their dreams. Whether that’s to be a standard princess and deal with whatever came their way, be a prince in shining armor, or as was newer in the country enter into the business of peace keepers. Speaking of peace keepers, Princess Mariemaia was hoping that her best friend from the Sanc Kingdom was going to be there. She looked up to Princess Relena _a lot_. She was just a few years older than Princess Mariemaia but their families had always been close.
> 
> Queen Une entered her daughter’s bedroom chamber to help her daughter finish getting ready for the ball.”

The girl’s eyes lit up again. “Sister Relena!”

Duo nodded. “I know you two are close.”

> “While the two ladies finished getting ready, they talked about who would be at the ball and how the evening would proceed.
> 
> Mariemaia had decided that she wanted to be presented as not only a princess but a knight in training. It was thanks to her Masters that she was able to pass the tests recently to join the ranks of the young princes who would be being presented this year as well. With help from her mother, the two of them designed a special ball gown for her to wear tonight.
> 
> Her gown had an A-line skirt with a slit up the front that went from the bottom up to her hips; underneath the skirt she wore tailored trousers and black knee high boots. The top of the gown was cut into a sweetheart neckline, with corset back – she was still a princess after all – and a military-esque jacket that matched her father’s jacket. All of this was in a cream color along with burgundy trim.
> 
> It was a beautiful blend of both sides of her family, while retaining the tradition of the presentation.
> 
> “You look beautiful sweet daughter of mine,” the Queen said as she finished attaching a lavender feather affixed to a small silver clasp to her daughter’s hair.
> 
> Before she could respond to her mother a knock was heard at the door. A maid cracked the door open to see who was out there before turning back to the Queen and Princess. “M’ladies, it is the King. Is the Princess ready?”
> 
> “Papa!”
> 
> Mariemaia ran to the door to open it further so let the King in, the maid giving a deep curtsy to the king and princess. King Treize motioned for the maid to rise as he entered the room and took in his daughter. “My, you and your mother did a wonderful job designing your presentation gown,” the King addressed his daughter with a warm smile giving her a bow.
> 
> The princess responded with a bow of her own before giggling and giving a curtsy so he could see the trousers she had on under the dress. The Queen had moved over to join her daughter and husband in the main area of the room.
> 
> “It was all Mariemaia’s design. I just helped her figure out how to make it work and helped with the construction. She has truly learned enough skills to fit both princess and knight,” the queen informed her husband.
> 
> Both parents beamed proudly at their daughter, they seem to have heeded the words of the old crone well as their daughter was truly happy. Moments later another knock was heard at the door, the maid opened it to find one of the king’s pages.
> 
> “Your Majesties, the guests have arrived and the presentation is ready to start,” the page said.
> 
> With a nod, the King took his Queen’s arm and led the way to the ballroom, Mariemaia following behind them a bundle of nerves. Arriving at giant oak doors, the herald opened them and stepped out onto the balcony announcing the arrival of the King and Queen. As soon as they were announced, the two entered the room and greeted the attendees. The two monarchs headed down the stairs to the dais along one side of the room set up for the royal family. Once at the table the King beamed at everyone.
> 
> “It is now with great pleasure from both Queen Une and I that we present our daughter to everyone. Lady Mariemaia, Princess of the Khushrenada Kingdom and heiress to the throne, and soon to be Knight in Training,” the king loudly to the room, his voice brimming with pride.
> 
> As the king presented her to the attendees, Mariemaia stepped into the room and gave a proper curtsy. Rising from the curtsy to applause, the Princess made her way down the stairs to join her parents.”

Duo continued to describe the events of the ball to the young girl. There was dining, dancing and mingling amongst the nobility gathered. Nothing of real importance to note, other than yes the nobility of the Sanc Kingdom was there. He went on to further explain her entry into the royal knight academy and how her training went. Pausing at one point he saw that the girl was drifting asleep.

“We’ll finish the story tomorrow night,” Duo whispered as he finished tucking the girl into bed.

* * *

Quietly leaving her room, he met Lady Une in her sitting room. “She’s asleep, but do you mind if I come back tomorrow to finish the story,” the braided boy asked.

“Finish the story,” the older woman questioned raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah… we only got part way through and she was starting to fall asleep. She seems to be enjoying it though,” he replied. “Oh, and the stuff I brought is in her room. They’re for her to play with. Anyway, I need to get going myself!”

Duo stretched his back with a big yawn as he headed towards the door. Lady Une was taken by surprise and hastily got up to follow him to the door.

“Well, thank you again for coming over and we’ll see you tomorrow at the same time,” she said as she opened the door for Duo.

With a nod and a wavy, the energetic boy headed off with a bounce in his step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAHHHHHHH. If I didn't split this into two chapters it never would get finished and I felt bad not updating. I do know how I want the rest of his story to go it was just getting _so_ hard. ;_; Anyway, I'm working on the rest of the story and you'll get it soonish. I just got burnt out. T_T

**Author's Note:**

> The story told in this chapter by Heero can be found [here](https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/009.txt).


End file.
